Choosing between one wide door and two single doors
Single vs double garage doors: one wide door or two?
For a double garage, one wide door is easier to drive through and leaves no pier in the middle, while two single doors keep the pier, give you two separate openings and mean a fault on one door never locks both cars in. Neither is better in every case; it depends on your drive, how you park and whether the building already has a central pier.
Whichever way you go, we supply and fit roller, sectional, up and over and side-hinged doors in single and double widths across Northern Ireland.
- One wide door
- Easier parking, no central pier
- Two single doors
- Keeps the pier, independent openings
- Both
- Can be manual or electric
- Decider
- The structure of the opening
Side by side
The main practical differences look like this.
| One double door | Two single doors | |
|---|---|---|
| Parking | Wide target, easier to swing in | Tighter, each car has its own opening |
| Central pier | Removed or not needed | Kept, supports the lintel |
| If a door fails | Both spaces blocked | Other door still works |
| Opening only one side | Opens fully every time | Open just the side you need |
| Automation | One operator | Two operators, or one door electric |
| Look | Clean, modern, wide | Traditional, symmetrical |
Start with the structure
Many older double garages were built with a brick pier in the middle holding up the lintel. Taking it out to fit one wide door means supporting the opening with a longer, stronger lintel, which is building work and may need advice from a builder or engineer. If the pier is staying, two single doors is the natural answer. If the garage was built as one wide opening, a double door is simpler.
Which door types work in a double width
For a wide opening, sectional and roller doors are the most common choices because they open straight up and leave the drive clear.
- Sectional: well suited to wide openings, parks under the ceiling and seals well.
- Roller: works in wide openings where the ceiling needs to stay clear.
- Up and over: available in double widths, but the leaf is large and swings out onto the drive.
- Side-hinged: a wide pair of leaves needs a lot of drive space to open fully.
Heat, noise and security
A single wide door has one long bottom seal and one set of side seals; two doors have two of each plus the pier between them. In practice, an insulated door in either layout performs well if it is fitted square and sealed properly. For security, both options can take the same locking and automation; what matters more is the door type and how well it is fitted.
Replacing an existing pair
If you already have two up and over doors, replacing them with two new doors is usually straightforward. Converting to one wide door is possible but depends on the lintel and pier, so we look at the structure at the survey before recommending it.
Questions we get asked
- Is one double door or two single doors better?
- One wide door is easier to park through; two singles keep the central pier and mean one fault does not block both spaces. The structure of your opening usually decides it.
- Can the pier between two garage doors be removed?
- Sometimes, but the lintel above has to be supported properly, which is building work. We will flag this at the survey.
- Can a double garage door be electric?
- Yes. Wide sectional and roller doors are commonly automated with a single operator.
- Do you supply single and double doors?
- Yes. We supply and fit roller, sectional, up and over and side-hinged doors in single and double widths.
Not sure which layout suits your garage?
Send us a photo of the front of the garage and the opening sizes, and we will talk you through both options.
Based at 31 Mount Street, Dromore (BT25) · covering Northern Ireland · 24/7 emergency repairs